Philadelphia Antiques Show 2016_

E llie Cullman, who founded Cullman and Kravis with friend and collaborator, Heidi Kravis, over 30 years ago, enjoys a lofty reputation in both the interior design and antiques worlds. The Brooklyn native, whose family owns Peter Luger Steak House, was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa society at Barnard College, from which she graduated magna cum laude. From there, Cullman continued her education in East Asian Studies at Columbia Graduate School. After marrying Edgar Cullman, whose family was involved in the legendary American Cigar Company, she enjoyed a strong relationship with her husband’s vibrant mother, Louise Bloomingdale Cullman. “She was a serious collector of Americana, when it was not yet fashionable,” she says. “I would literally go with her every weekend, and that’s how I learned about antiques.” If her mother-in-law ensured she would also become a collector and eventually a respected resource of Americana, her love of Asian studies broadened that aspect and steered her early professional life to become an exhibition assistant at the Japan House Gallery. “Then, I was lucky enough to work for Bob Bishop, who was director of the Museum of American Folk Art, and that, not surprisingly, fostered my love for this particular genre of antiques.” Between 1976 and 1980, Cullman co-curated two shows at the museum. The first, Folk and Funk, highlighted Andy Warhol’s extensive collections. The other, Small Folk: A Celebration of Childhood, focused on children’s things. Today, Cullman’s innovative designs not only reflect those important hands- on learning experiences, but resulted in many prestigious awards for her work. Since 2000, she has been listed in the definitive “AD 100” Architectural Digest designation of best designers and architects. Additionally, she was included in the AD list of “The Deans of American Design,” and was the recipient of the prestigious “Stars of Design” award at NYC’s D&D building. Recently, in March 2016, she was awarded the Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award by the New York School of Interior Design. In addition to her firm’s interior design practice, Cullman & Kravis recently launched its Elliehome Furniture Collection through The New Traditionalist, and a fabric collection with Holland & Sherry. Along with longtime colleague, Tracy Pruzan, Ellie is the coauthor of Decorating Master Class: The Cullman Kravis Way (NY: Harry Abrams, 2008), and The Detailed Interior: Decorating Up Close with Cullman & Kravis (NY: Monacelli Press, 2013). She has chaired many antiques shows, including the Metro Show, Park Avenue Antiques Show, and the American Patrons Committee for Masterpiece in London. In addition, Cullman has always felt a strong commitment to her urban community and has completed pro bono projects for organizations such as Safe Horizon, the city’s leading provider of shelter to domestic violence victims; The New York Restoration Project’s Garden of Hope; and a medical intensive care unit waiting room at Mt. Sinai Hospital. Whether devising a design scheme or creating a unique backdrop for her clients’ particular lifestyles, she inevitably shapes spaces that mix contemporary pieces with wonderful antiques. “It’s an educational process. You take clients to shows and shops, and once they are exposed to the craftsmanship and begin to understand the layers of history inherent in, say, a graceful Queen Anne knee or intricately-carved Chippendale back splat, they feel more compelled to own these things. I can honestly say, I don’t think we’ve ever done a project without some antiques.” ELLIECULLMAN “Whether devising a design scheme or creating a unique backdrop for her clients’ particular lifestyles, she inevitably shapes spaces that mix contemporary pieces with wonderful antiques.” by Marion Laffey Fox W 90 W THEPHILADELPHIA ANTIQUES & ART SHOW